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In a surprising move, the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has moved to formally dissolve the NRA. This move comes after an extensive 18-month investigation into the organization revealed widespread corruption and fraud. The non-profit group has been a high-profile proponent of Second Amendment rights in the US in recent years.
James reported that she discovered evidence that the non-profit had been involved in misconduct so severe that they had lost $64 million over three years. The suit filed in New York named not just the NRA, but several of its top executives as defendants. Since the non-profit is registered in New York, James has the authority to file such a motion.
AG James’ move on Thursday was the most openly brazen she could have taken against the National Rifle Association. As the AG in New York, she has sweeping jurisdiction over non-profit groups. These include the power to order them to cease operations and even dissolve. The NRA will be able to contest the order, and the case will be taken before New York state courts.
James’ suit against the non-profit is sweeping and scathing. “The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” said the AG in a statement on Thursday. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
The NRA fired back on Thursday, alleging that the AG’s move was purely political in nature. The organization decried the AG’s suit as a “baseless premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend… we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail.”
The NRA has been a major force in American politics for decades. The group lobbies on behalf of gun rights. Many point to the NRA as the reason why American gun laws are so lax. By taking aim at the NRA, James is likely to set off a political firestorm in the US. Republican lawmakers are likely to rush to the defense of the non-profit, almost as surely as Democratic lawmakers will be pleased to see the group dissolved.
Either way, arguments relating to the future of the NRA are sure to be a major ratings draw on YouTube, TV and social media. 2020 continues to be a puzzling and historic year.
